What lies behind us and lies before us are small matters compared to what lies right to our faces.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Saturday

If I had known before today that Hank Aaron was in Cooperstown yesterday, I'd have gone there. The Hall of Fame is in my queue of things to do, along with the Farmers Museum, but I promised someone I'd save it until he could visit. Ho-hum.

Where I did go was Sackets Harbor, to the Seaway Trail Discovery Center, where I picked up promotional literature for places all around Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway and learned to always have my passport with me if I head north, since a lot of the islands are Canada. There is also a battlefield from the War of 1812, but the barracks and other buildings are closed until June (like most everything I want to see...).

There was also an exhibition about a Dutch woman named An Keuning-Tichelaar, who was part of the Dutch Resistance to the Nazis. As a Mennonite, she would do no violence, but she hid Jews in her house, smuggled ration books, and other errands. After the occupation was over, she cared for Ukranian refugees fleeing Communist persecution of Christians. The exhibition was centered around quilts made by Mennonites in North America to help these refugees, some of which An saved after the refugees left to resettle in Paraguay.

The quilts were unremarkable as quilts; they were mostly vehicles for the story, which seems kind of timely all of a sudden.

On the way home, I stopped at Robert G. Wehle State Park, along Lake Ontario. Its namesake was an artist and dog breeder who donated his estate to New York for a park. I got some nice pictures of Lake Erie, but I have a feeling you need a boat for the really stunning pictures of the limestone cliffs. Also collected some fossils aggregated in sandstone, and made a note to pick up my "Wildflowers of Eastern North America" book when I fly home next weekend.